Page 79 of Silent Count
The finger moves, and I see my sister’s smiling face. “Open the door! It’s cold out here!”
I unlock the door, and we all squeal and hug. “Oh my God! What are you guys doing here?”
My sister is in shorts, flip-flops, and a sweatshirt. Completely inappropriate attire for the cold here in Oklahoma.
“What on earth are you wearing, Tor? It’s freezing here.”
“What am I wearing? What are you wearing? You look like a grandma. And your hair. Is there a bird living in it? I can loan you my brush.” She walks past me and into my apartment.
“Don’t hold back, Torie.” My aunt shakes her head. “It’s not that bad, sweetie. But have you showered today?” She kisses the side of my head.
I’m so happy they’re here. I didn’t realize how much I needed to see them until, well, I saw them. “Yes, I did. But I didn’t dry my hair, which is why it looks like”—I pat my head—“this.”
“I’ll brush it out for you. But first, I need some pants and some fuzzy socks. I’m frozen.” She walks back toward my room.
I look at my aunt, and we both laugh at my sister.
“I told her it would be cold, but she didn’t believe me.”
“I believed you, but, like, I didn’t fully understand the level of cold,” she says from my room.
“What are you guys doing here? Not that I’m not so excited that you’re here, but why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” I walk into the kitchen and open the fridge. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“Yeah, I’ll take a water,” my aunt says. “Well, we were really bummed that you weren’t coming home for Christmas, and I could just tell that something was wrong and you weren’t going to tell me about it, so I thought we should come and see what was going on.”
I hand her a water and grab one for me and my sister. “I’m fine. Really. Just stressed about the last few weeks of school and finishing finals and stuff.”
Torie comes back into the room wearing a pair of my pants and socks, with my brush in her hand. “I call bullshit. Something is going on, and you’re gonna tell us what it is.” She takes the water from me and moves over to the couch. “Come sit. Let me help you with this hair.”
I follow her and push the coffee table out so I can sit between her legs. My aunt joins us and sits in the chair so I can look at her while Torie brushes my hair.
“I’m so happy to see you guys.” My eyes start to water.
“Okay, see this?” My aunt points at me. “You don’t do this. This crying thing. Being overly emotional. That’s not our girl.” She gasps. “Chelsea Sullivan. Are you pregnant?” Her hands cover her mouth, eyes wide.
“What? No!” I shake my head and laugh.
“OMG, can you imagine?!” Torie cackles.
I turn my head. “I’m not, but why would that be so funny?” I have no idea why I’m getting defensive.
She stops laughing when she sees my face. “It’s not, Chels. Talk to us.” She puts her hand on my cheek.
I take a deep breath and sigh.
For the last decade, it’s been the three of us, and I’ve never known my aunt or sister to hop on a plane on a whim. In fact, Aunt Laura keeps pretty strict office hours and hardly ever takes vacations. They’re here. They came for me. It’s like when I was the little girl locked in a closet, waiting in silence for someone to come along and find me, and Aunt Laura is here … again. I don’t want to hide my feelings from her. Not this time.
“It’s over between me and Bo.”
Torie points at my aunt and says, “I told you that was it.”
“That my relationship was totally screwed?” I ask her.
“Well, not necessarily that, but I bet it had to do with him. You usually drop about fiveBo does this, and Bo said thatin every conversation we have, and you haven’t done that in a few weeks, so I figured it out.” Torie puts her hand on the top of my head and turns it forward.
“How do you think you messed it up?” my aunt asks.
So, I tell them everything—from meeting his family to the conversation after. All of it.
